At the Intersection of the Sacred and the Legal: Rights for Nature in Uttarakhand, India
At the Intersection of the Sacred and the Legal: Rights for Nature in Uttarakhand, India
复制标题
神圣与法律的交汇处：印度北阿坎德邦的自然权利
DOI：
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发表时间：
2017
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
E. O’Donnell
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
E. O’Donnell
描述/摘要2017年3月，印度北阿肯德邦高等法院在恒河、亚穆纳河和冰川案件中裁定，恒河和亚穆纳河、甘戈特里河和亚穆诺特里冰川以及北阿坎德邦的其他自然物体享有合法权利。在这两起案件中，高等法院将自然物体确定为法定未成年人，并将监护责任授予北阿肯德邦政府内的几个人。这些判决为自然创造了新的法律权利，并因此提供了强有力的例子，表明以权利为中心的环境保护日益重要。然而，这一判例法的影响是不确定的。首先，赋予自然的合法权利是由如此广泛的“伤害”概念支撑的，以至于它被认为是成功实施的ffi邪教。此外，恒河和亚穆纳案目前被搁置，等待向最高法院上诉，最高法院可能决定推翻高等法院的fi判决。尽管如此，这些案例的分析仍然很重要，特别是考虑到将自然构建为法律主体/法人如何将环境法从公法转向私法领域。此外，恒河和亚穆纳河案明确利用印度教来支持恒河和亚穆纳河的神圣地位，在当前印度教民族主义运动的背景下，这可能会被证明是有争议的。
Description / Abstract In March 2017, the High Court of Uttarakhand in India ruled in the Ganges and Yamuna and the Glaciers cases that the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers, as well as other natural objects in the state of Uttarakhand enjoy legal rights. In both cases, the High Court established the natural objects as legal minors and conferred guardianship responsibilities on several individuals within the state government of Uttarakhand. These judgments create novel legal rights for nature and, as such, present powerful examples of the increasing relevance of rights-centred environmental protection. The impact of this case law, however, is uncertain. As a start, the legal rights entrusted to nature are underpinned by such broad definitions of ‘harm’ that it is difficult to envision successful implementation. Further, the Ganges and Yamuna case is currently stayed pending appeal to the Supreme Court, which may decide to overturn the High Court’s findings. Still, these cases are important to analyse, especially in light of how constructing nature as a legal subject/legal person shifts environmental law away from public law and into the sphere of private law. Also, the Ganges and Yamuna case draws explicitly on Hinduism to support the sacred status of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, which, in the current context of the Hindu Nationalist Movement, may prove controversial.